章節 17: Chapter 17 A Blacksmith Named Daichi

"Ah, Fū." Riku snapped out of his daydream and turned his head to the slowly approaching girl.

Riku stood up and looked at the lake before him.

The setting sun set a glow over the large lake, creating an air of calm.

All of a sudden, Riku used:

Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger

"Monoflame : Great fireball jutsu!" Riku spoke

And he then exhaled a huge monochrome-fireball over the lake, his eyes glowed and the two tomoe began to spin as he outstretched a hand.

The fireball exploded into thousands of black and white flaming butterflies over the lake.

"Woah!" Fū screamed in excitement, seeing Riku exhale such a large fireball left her a bit dazed but seeing such beautiful butterflies dancing around the lake created such a beautiful sight under the setting sun.

The butterflies danced around the lake, then moving to dance around Riku and Fū.

Riku smiled somberly, "Fū, I'm planning to leave here and go on my own journey around the world, learning new things and fighting new people. And so I won't be able to see you for a while." Riku spoke softly, the white glow of the flaming butterfly lighting up his small face.

Fū's face darkened, but she knew this would happen eventually. "Ah, I see…" Fū's looked down at the wet grass beneath her feet.

"But before that, I have a gift for you." Riku spoke, making Fū look back up at him.

…

1 month ago, the land of rivers, Katabami Gold Mine.

"Run! It's a monster!" Screams and cries echoed throughout the mine.

Many people wearing mining gear were running for their lives.

"You're all pathetic." A melancholic voice reverberated throughout the caverns.

Riku Kuroshiro flickered around the mine, swiping one finger at any miners he saw, slicing the innocent people into pieces.

Riku had created a shadow clone consisting fully of Kokuenryū's chakra to go and obtain some materials from a gold mine, which allowed Kokuenryū to run rampant within the mines of Katabami, he had so found that using Kokuenryū's power to turn his hands into draconic claws, his slash/claw projection techniques were so much stronger and had the mono-flame effect without Riku actively applying it to his projections.

Riku would've been horrified if he could see Kokuenryū butchering so many innocent people! He had only allowed Kokuenryū control of his body for him to get a taste of humanoid movement, and here he was, slaughtering for the sake of it!

Riku only wanted to gather materials, not kill all these people! He was ruthless, sure, but this was over the top!

"So boring, maybe I should flaunt myself in a big village so someone strong would come fight me so I can get that feeling of being injured again." Kokuenryū grinned thinking of a life and death battle.

Slaughtering 20 more miners as he walked through the mine picking up some ore that piqued his interest.

Thanks to his eyes, he could see which ore were rich in chakra and even how dense they were.

Several more miners ran away and some even tried to fight.

Their efforts were in vain as their bodies were now littered amongst smouldering ash at the bottom of the Katabami gold mine.

With a large burlap bag over his shoulder, Kokuenryū whistled a tune while throwing various metals and equipment into his bag.

Kokuenryū's masochistic tendencies were evident as he placed his hand on a wall he could sense a certain gemstone behind.

And..

*BOOM*

Kokuenryū's entire arm exploded as he sent more chakra than he could handle to his forearm and hand. Bone, flesh and rock spread out all over the walls and floor.

His arm slowly regenerated as he grabbed the high quality metal behind the now destroyed cave wall.

With his arm fully healed after focusing chakra on it for about 5 minutes he continued his walk through the Katabami gold mine.

Slaughtering even more people through the mine, their screams not reaching anyone but the ears of those long dead.

Pleas and prayers, begging for their lives, talking about the family they have back home; the people that were swiftly cut down by Kokuenryū's draconic claws.

With a yawn, Kokuenryū exited the mine.

The sight of the small cloaked figure with piercing whit eyes drenched in blood with a bag over his shoulder shocked the nearby civilians.

Two large wings appeared from Riku's back, shocking them further as he flew away into the night sky.

…

Landing heavily on the ground outside of a shack in the middle of nowhere, Kokuenryū suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Riku was given the memories of what Kokuenryū did, he had to hold himself back from throwing up, he had killed many in his previous life, but they all had a reason to be killed, and Riku had just watched as he was forced to kill hundreds of innocent civilians.

Riku held the bark of a tree for a while, breathing heavily and trying not to have a panic attack. He then gathered his bearings and then placed his cloak on a nearby branch as to not scare the man he was going to meet. Riku opened the door slowly and greeted "Good evening, Mr. Daichi." Riku spoke softly and respectfully.

The burly elderly man turned to see his visitor, seeing the young child his face lit up, "Ah, Riku! Great to see you here." He spoke with a hearty laugh.

Mr. Daichi was an old blacksmith Riku had saved from a group of bandits not too long ago, and ever since, Riku had been coming around to help with his wellbeing and also to use his blacksmith equipment to defrost his blacksmithing skills.

Today, was different however.

"Today, I'm here to make a couple items for a friend of mine, it's her birthday soon." Riku spoke, holding up the burlap sack filled with materials.

Mr. Daichi looked at Riku with a knowing look.

"It's not like that, Mr. Daichi." Riku giggled as he put down the bag of various metals and cracked his knuckles.

"Those flames of yours are really handy you know? They stay alight for a week so they run out just in time for your return." Mr. Daichi spoke as he watched Riku get to work from his rocking chair.

Riku smiled somberly, "Yes… It's my families secret technique." Riku chuckled softly as he replied to Mr. Daichi's praise.

"A kekkei genkai? Riku, I'm nearly 90 years old, I know enough about the shinobi world." Mr. Daichi laughed heartily at Riku's dumbing down.

Riku breathed his flames onto the fire pit, rolled up his sleeves tied his hair back and lay out the ore infront of him.

Being a mechanical engineering and a blacksmith student in his previous life, he had a lot of knowledge on various materials.

Infront of him there was:

Steel with high carbon density

Titanium

Gold

Peridot gemstone

Water chakra stone

Lightning chakra stone

High density chakra metal

Riku had picked all of these up for a reason, other than water chakra stones which he found by chance.

The steel with high carbon density was a type of carbon steel called 1095 with much manganese but the least corrosion resistance. With proper maintenance, it will remain a functional sword with an extremely sharp edge that is still stiff and brittle. That makes the durability of this steel low when compared to the other swords, especially if the blade's edge alignment is not perfect. But Riku had a plan concerning its durability.

As for titanium, Titanium alloys are roughly 65% the weight of iron. Compared to a steel sword, this allows the titanium model to be either larger and more robust for similar weight, or lighter weight in a sword of the same size. Speed of movement is an advantage for a sword wielder, and a prized trait in edged weapons.

The gold wasn't for a weapon, rather an accessory.

The same went for the peridot gemstone.

The water chakra stone was something Riku had picked up for no particular reason.

The lightning chakra stone would be used to help Riku gain sensitivity to the lightning chakra nature.

As for the high density chakra metal, it was extremely rare and would allow whatever weapon crafted out of it to be able to withstand any jutsu and could even use the wielders chakra to increase the power and durability.

Yet there was one final thing Riku needed.

Riku coated his left arm with Kokuenryū's scales, which he then ripped 20 scales out of his arm, causing him great pain but the outcome would be worth it.

Riku exhaled, preparing for what he had to do.

His face suddenly grew scales and his jaw grew larger.

His sharp teeth began to elongate and even harden.

He then placed 3 scales at a time in his mouth and began to crush them to a fine powder.

Spitting out the final product of his saliva and the powdered scales of Kokuenryū, he placed it over the fire and soon enough his saliva had evaporated, leaving him with a fine powder consisting of Kokuenryū's scales, the most durable material in all of uptonia.

Grinning, Riku was excited to finally get somewhere.

Placing the titanium, 1095 carbonated steel, chakra metal and the scales of Kokuenryū inside of Mr. Daichi's crucible.

Riku then proceeded to place the crucible above the mono-flame he had prepared earlier.

While he waited for the crucible to heat up, he turned to Mr. Daichi and asked, "Mr. Daichi, can you tell me about yourself? I barely know anything about you."

Mr. Daichi's face lit up, "Ah, where do I start? My name is Daichi Miyata, and I'm a blacksmith of sorts, though I like to think of myself as a craftsman of resilience. I live in a humble hut deep in the heart of the Land of Rivers, so that the noise and chaos of the world are kept very far away. It is just me out here, and the sounds of nature: birds singing, water trickling, and leaves rustling every now and then. The solitude is my sanctuary.

It was no easy journey, for I was born in a small village-happy, content with laughter and love. Until tragedy struck. My home was raided by a band of rogue ninjas that captured me and many others, whisked away very far from home. I was put to life serving in mines and forges of some foreign land. Dark years they were, but hope did keep my sanity-constant dreams of freedom.

I was at the lowest moments of my despair that I happened to find my passion for blacksmithing. Using scraps of metal I could find, I would steal moments in practice. It was during this time that a kind-hearted master blacksmith noticed my talent. He would take me under his wings and teach me his techniques of forging weapons and armor. I recall the day, in memory, of forging my first true masterpiece-a katana that seemed to shine with a light from the other world. It was a symbol of resilience, proof that beauty could be wrought by my hand even at the worst of times.

Years eventually passed until finally, my chance to escape arrived. I ran into the night with the aid of other captives until I reached the safety of the Land of Rivers. I was finally free, but the scars of my life remained. I wanted to be left alone and thus built my hut in the middle of nowhere, far away from the noise of civilization. Here, I had all the time to improve my craft-to put my heart and soul into each and every piece I forged.

I've forged weapons even the highest ranked shinobi use, but I don't take on apprentices. For me, mastery of a craft such as a blacksmith is something to be earned through the sweat of one's brow and won through determination. From time to time, adventurers happen upon this village, and I'm always glad to share my knowledge and stories with these travelers. I make it a point to let them know their inner strength is already at the core of their beings and to stand strong against the trials and hardships in life.

Now, 90 years later, I still sweat over my forge. The clang of hammer and metal in a rhythmic ring echoes through the wilderness as a reminder of my journey. Though usually a man alone, in his heart, he had a legacy of resilience and hope-a testament to forging not just weapons but the strength of the human spirit. And you, little Riku, are lucky to be using my equipment!" Mr. Daichi roared with laughter as Riku looked at the elderly man with nothing but respect.

"Wow, I suppose I'm lucky to have some knowledge of blacksmithing in the first place or else you wouldn't have allowed me to use your equipment." Riku chuckled softly as he turned his attention to the crucible, where he saw that the metals had nearly turned molten.

"What about you? Little Riku?" Mr. Daichi asked, with a small smile on his wrinkled face.

"Ahh, where do I begin?" Riku chuckled, he then told Mr. Daichi about his life in the Kuroshiro clan, about its ruin and his escape, his kidnapping and eventually his kekkei genkai.

Mr. Daichi began to laugh uncontrollably, "Such a great story! I'm sure by the time your my age, little Riku, you'll have plenty of stories to share with your children and even grandchildren!" Mr. Daichi smiled at Riku, hearing his story filled him up with his once lost burning excitement.

"Say, little Kuroshiro, could you bring me some materials and especially some of that chakra metal the next time you drop by?" Mr. Daichi spoke with a light smile.

"Of course, Mr. Daichi." Riku replied with certainty, his small face glowing with the reflection of the monochromatic-flame before him.

Removing the newly created alloy from the crucible with his fire resistant scale coated hands, pouring the molten alloy into a clay mold and gently placing the clay mold into a small lake outside of Mr. Daichi's home.

After stargazing for 10 minutes, Riku took the mold back inside, cracked it open and revealed the large alloy.

Surprisingly, Kokuenryū's scale fragments weren't seen by the naked eye, revealing the fact that his scales could bond with any material despite not having a melting point.

This revelation opened up a wealth of opportunities for Riku, and he couldn't help but grin.

"Leave me some of those scales to look at too, please." Daichi asked with a smile.

To which Riku nodded unhesitatingly.

Riku grabbed a large hammer and held the alloy over his mono-flame.

As the alloy turned to a molten orange colour, he began hammering it into shape on the anvil before cutting the long strip of alloy into two, he began hammering more and more, his chakra enhanced hammering increased the quality of the blades.

Hours went by, the night sky began to shine a dark blue as the morning sun rose.

Riku was sitting on the floor of Daichi's hut shirtless drenched in sweat.

Daichi was still watching eagerly as the young boy created a pair of swords he could only describe as magnificent!

On the table beside Riku, two beautiful short Ninjato lay next to two magnificent sheaths that matched the dark green of the sword hilts.

Next to the two swords, lay two leather strip necklaces. Each had a golden dragon pendant with a peridot gemstone embedded on its tail.

The leather was a good substitute for a metal necklace due to it getting in the way during battle.

As for the peridot gemstone? Back on earth, peridot was the gemstone associated with August, which was when Fū's birthday was.

And why there was two necklaces? Well Riku had left over material and wouldn't mind having one for himself.

The two swords were both for Fū though, short swords weren't really Riku's style.

The blades and pendants themselves were done rather quickly, but the detail Riku put into the swords and pendant is what took the longest due to Riku's artistic tendencies, he refused to be done until the designs were satisfactory.

"I must say little Riku, your talent in craftsmanship is truly remarkable. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to see such a talent in my last years of life." Mr. Daichi smiled at Riku as he spoke.

Riku's heart warmed at the words, "it's my pleasure, Mr. Daichi, I thank you for allowing me to use your expert equipment and allowing me a place of respite where I can wind down and chat with a friend." Riku looked at Mr. Daichi.

The two talked for a while before Riku took the items, and flew off back to the Kumarai territory.

"That little Riku, he's going to take the world by storm one day!" Daichi let out another long hearty laugh as he inspected the scales Riku had left for him.